“Food insecurity”? When did that phrase become the way to describe being poor? Our mom did the best she could, but feeding eight children on limited resources was not easy. Once a month she would go to the town hall to collect surplus food. Powdered milk, processed cheese, butter and canned meat were staples in our […]

When I was in elementary school I played basketball – not just the small school teams but also in plenty of camps during summer. That’s right. I had to wake up at 8 in the morning just to play basketball for four hours during my summer break. It was egregious. The worst part? I didn’t […]

Last week I sent Math a text message that said, “I’m breaking up with you.” Math told a mutual friend that our breakup “can’t last forever” and that I’ll soon learn I “can’t live without Math.” Math has quite an ego. It’s tough to be with someone who is so certain about everything all the […]

I believe I’ve slept on this topic more than any other that I can recall. “Quitting” or “to quit” conjures up conflicting reactions. To abruptly quit one’s job, or simply give up prematurely on a worthy endeavor, are negatives. To quit a harmful habit, on the other hand, or an abusive, dangerous relationship – those […]

Are you familiar with the phrase, “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins”? I don’t think it is true. There are times, places and situations in which “So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu,” is appropriate. I’m a quitter. Most of the time, I know when to hold ’em, but I certainly know when […]

Quitting often has a negative connotation, when it refers to giving up prematurely, being unable to achieve a goal or being a bad sport because things didn’t go the way a person wanted. Certainly these things do happen, not always with good consequences. But I believe quitting can be a positive option in our lives. […]

In the summer of 1967, when I was nearly 17, I worked at a bingo lounge called Skill-Right on Revere Beach Boulevard. I would walk up and down the long U-shaped aisles, with customers on either side. They’d hail me if they wanted to buy more cards, or if they’d won. The customers were exactly […]

2021, which has become known as “The Year of The Big Quit,” takes me back to another year in which I quit not once, but four times. In the fall of 1971, I quit my junior year of college. I had run out of money and had taken out large loans and a ton of […]

I wanted to be brave. She was sweeping when I walked in. It was just her and me in the salon. She greeted me and came closer to ask how I was. I had been practicing. What to say. I had never said it to her before. Two of my sisters had done it. And […]